Appeal No. 1998-3048
Application 08/502,993
The examiner has not established that Shen discloses a
semiconductor die lying directly on the substrate with no die
attach adhesive between the die and the substrate, as the
appellants have claimed. According to the examiner, Shen
discloses a die (80) “lying directly on a first side of a
printed circuit substrate (60)” (answer at 3-4). However,
Shen’s die 80 does not “lie” on any substrate but is attached
through its upper surface to the bottom surface of a first
printed circuit board (60) and at its sides to the side walls
of a second printed circuit board (70). See Shen’s Figure 6.
The appellants are correct that the bottom surface of Shen’s
die does not rest upon any supporting structure but is
exposed. It is unreasonable, in light of the appellants’
specification, and also contrary to conventional and ordinary
understanding of the word “lying” to regard it as being met by
attachment through the top or upper surface of an element. In
short, Shen’s die does not sit or rest on a substrate and
therefore does not satisfy the limitation of lying directly on
the substrate.
Even assuming that Shen discloses a die (80) lying
directly on the substrate, the examiner has not demonstrated
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